The Death Of Rodimus Prime
It is the year 2035. On the peaks of the Exurium Throne, the cruel Galvatron and heroic Rodimus Prime fought in a true clash of the titans. Their battle ended when the backhanded Galvatron used the body of a dying Autobot as a distraction to fling Rodimus into the molten lead of the volcanic mountain. Since then, Rodimus Prime has been in a critical state. And then his player was gone for like, ever, so this has been really drawn out. Now, the Autobots race to the Autobot star freighter Leader One for the special cyberfluid needed to revive their leader. Can the Autobots save Rodimus Prime? Or will the Decepticons crush the Autobots and their leader once and for all? Find out on tonight's episode of THE TRANSFORMERS http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yQajJ2pdek The hull of the Autobot ship Brightest Dawn shudders under the hail of Decepticon gunfire. Prime's executive assistant Datapop, expressionless as ever, calmly readjusts the ship's fields so that the crew is exploded into the depths of space. "You might as well be channel surfing, Datapop!" Exclaims Wolfwings, standing behind the pilot. "Does ANYTHING shake you?" He points ahead. "Look- the Leader-1 docking bay. We're almost there- gun it!" The infantryman turns to the gathered Autobots. "Prepare for emergency landing, Autobots- the Decepticons are so far up our tailpipes they might as well be our engines!" Without acknowledging the oddness of a flying wolf making car metaphors, he checks a scanner. "Prime's stasis pod is ready to go!" He points at the large orange hovering casket looking thing that holds Rodimus, even as the Brightest Dawn more or less crashes into the main docking bay of the Leader-1. "Alright Autobots last one to the Medical Archives is a spare tire! TILL ALL ARE ONE!" The massive hangar a collection of dull oranges and grays- the entire ship looks as if it's been running on near zero energy for years, and abandoned for longer than that. At the end of the bay is a massive door with the Autobot emblem embossed in the center. That's probably the way to head, though not getting shot to death by Decepticons will be the trick. Torque hasn't left the casket since the trip began, joining the crew from Protihex where she helped prepare him for the journey. And you'll be damned to get her away from it even now, the femme's hands gripping tight to the handholds at the back to steer. "You heard him, you two, get ready, stay alert, and keep in the center of the group." She nods to the medics on each side of the casket, Suture and Retractor, who nod curtly. "Yes, ma'am." They say in unison. With that said, the Brightest Dawn docks, Torque steadying herself as the ship jostles a bit. But she looks determined, not about to fail this mission. "Let's go! Move!" Making sure there's Bots ahead and behind them, Torque and her team quickly move the hovering casket along with the group. Just moments ago: Elita One stands at the controls of one of the weapons stations, Tony Starking her way through the fire controls. "Concentrating fire on sector 17,1! That shook em off..." She slides her hand over the holograms, adding urgently moments after another explosion "Hull integrity in sector 23 is dropping!" Elita One glances up at the looming Leader-One before her, only catching the choice method of docking moments before the collision. "Slag..." She crouches behind her station, bracing as best she can. Now: She shakes her head, slumped over her station. The area's a mess of course, full of sparks and debris. Elita One shakes her head as she stands, "Right...right..." She staggers over to the side, her stride improving as she moves, then hits the door control, "We need a rear guard to help keep the Cons at bay. Protect Torque and Rodimus as best we can. If you don't know how to fix or what we're looking for, you're probably on rear guard." She summons her Plasma Cannon with a scowl, "and I'll be Primus damned if I let a Prime fall when I'm about THIS time." Elita One clenches a fist, then adds, "Come on then, let's do what needs done." She leaps out, in close escort to Torque, nimbly keeping pace and backtreading at the same time... Air Raid is fired UP! When the Brightest Dawn haphazardly lands in the hangar, he draws his torque rifle, rocks it upwards and vaults out off into the Leader One ahead of the hovering casket and Torque's little team. "I'm taking point Elita!" Combat: Elita One inspires Mirage, Zipline, Prowl, Torque, and Air Raid with uplifting and majestic words! <'Autobot'> Elita One says, "Understood Raid!" As one shuttle slams into the larger ship orbiting in the atmosphere of Dromedon Major, the then slumbering Dinobot is rudely awoken and just in time as he sails down the hallway, skidding to a stop, spread eagle on the floor face down. He manages to catch rear gaurd and something about another dinobot? "Me not Slag! Me Grimlock! Me awake! Swear..." His optics blink before he stands up quickly enough, scanning about to see the small forward boarding party. "No fix, no not what looking for, Me Grimlock gaurd!" Easy enough. An Energon Sword blazes to life in one thick fist as he stands ready, pointing forward, "For Rodimus!" Combat: Grimlock inspires Elita One with noble and majestic words! <'Autobot'> Elita One says, "That's telling them, Grimlock!" Prowl follows Torque onto Leader-1, taking charge of some of the support units. "Protect Torque and the medical team at all costs. Keep the Decepticons from advancing as much as possible." Short and simple, since Prowl isn't the one for many words. "We're not losing our Prime....again." Combat: Prowl inspires Grimlock with heroic and uplifting words! One second, Zipline is taking a nap in some small cubby somewhere. The next, there's a tawny yellow and black cheetah tape standing at the ready. Nearly slamming into Leader One's cargo bay probably did wonders to wake Zipline up. "Aaaalll-right!" The large railcannon (For her anyway) materialzes on her back as she darts through the legs of taller Autobot cybertronians advancing. "Let's save us a Prime!" "Decepticons, with ME! The hour is at hand," Galvatron crows, peering out Blast Off's front window. The Prime lays dying! And Galvatron is here to see it through. It would be a crime of the highest order for mere *time* to kill Rodimus. No, no, his life must be crushed between Galvatron's fingers. The Emperor of Destruction will settle for nothing less. He's buzzing; feverish as he stalks Blast Off's interior. /What if they are too late?/ When the Leader-1 and the Brightest Dawn come into view on Blast Off's screen, Galvatron points and bellows, "Blast Off, the docking bay! /Ram/ that pathetic Autobot ship out of the way if you must, but get us inside at once!" Then he's off running towards Blast Off's exit hatch, which, if Blast Off doesn't want his exit hatch summarily broken, Blast Off ought to open rather quickly. Space Shuttle comes soaring in, hot on the heels of the Autobots and carrying a cargo full of Cons- including Decepticon leader Galvatron himself! For once, the Combaticon shuttle doesn't bother telling them to behave and not to make a mess in his cargo bay. In fact he hasn't complained to Galvatron at all (imagine that). As Galvatron barks commands, he opens the cargo bay door. There is a small huff of annoyance at the Con leader's order to ram the Bot's ship in the landing bay if he must... but he also just does as told. Just... a bit more carefully than Galavtron might have indicated. He doesn't really want to mar his paint job, after all. His efforts get the job done, though, and the Cons are now inside the Leader-1 docking bay. Ramming is usually Earthquake's thing, but hey, if Galvatron wants Blast Off to do it, fine by him. It just means the dozer will have some extra fuel for ripping Autobots in half instead. "These Autobots are gonna be scrap before they even know what hit 'em!" he enthusiastically declares, slamming one massive fist into the palm of his other hand as he waits by the exit hatch. It's a pity he probably won't get the chance to grab the Matrix of Leadership, to hold it and feel what it's like to be a Prime, a legendary heroic figure like Optimus... Oh, well. Smashing up Autobots is almost as good. Of course Galvatron gets to go first, being the ultrimate lord and leader gets privileges like that. But Weirdwolf is on the Emperor of Destruction's proverbial heels and wasting no time in leaping out of Blast Off's hatchway. The headmaster somersaults as he does so and lands on the cargo deck on four feet instead of two; Monzo barely has a chance to grab onto his neck before the mechanical wolf takes off after the Autobot progression. Metal claws scrape little ruts in the metal paneling as he veers around wreckage and bounding over old toppled cargo bins, his heightened senses already tracking on the Autobots ahead. Weirdwolf drops to the ground, landing on all fours as a robotic beast. <'Autobot'> Elita One says, "There they are...alright, whoever's dealing with Earthquake, stay elusive and fast, he hasn't much for range from what I've seen..." Combat: Mecha Wolf sets his defense level to Guarded. <'Autobot'> Air Raid says, "I'm heading for the doors at the end of the bay, I'll find a dance partner later!" <'Autobot'> Air Raid says, "Torque, punch someone in the mouth for me." <'Autobot'> Grimlock says, "Me Grimlock light a fire under Decepticon behind! You go!" <'Autobot'> Torque says, "If they even try to get near Prime, I will. Following right behind you, though, we gotta get that door open." <'Autobot'> Air Raid says, "I'll KICK IT!" Air Raid gladly leaves the incoming threat to Elita and company. He'll try to cover whoever follows him, but he's got one objective right now. And that's to KICK DOWN THE DOO- "FRAAAAG," he howls after righteously jamming his foot against the locked entrance. "Nrrrgh! That!" he gestures wildly at the keypad, then Torque. If you're gonna leave someone behind to block the way, you leave one of the biggest bots you can. Seeing as Fortress Maximus was off duty tonight, it stands that Grimlock was next in line. Not wasting any time though as Cons rush in through another Cargo Bay door, Grimlock shifts forms, metal changing, twisting before he stands on two legs, with a tail behind and large gnashing teeth up front. "Me Grimlock say no Pass Go! No collect $200! All go to Jail!" Thanks Daniel. A warning gout of flame washes through the Cargo Bay behind the autobots. Grimlock jumps into the air, metal flashing and folding and twisting to sprout claws and teeth and tail, landing with a ground-shaking thud as the savage Tyrant Lizard emerges. Elita One finds herself looking for cover as the Decepticons pour in. She takes refuge against a half-wall in the hangar, might've been used to brace transports at one point. Elita slides into position naturally, then draws up her weapon. 'Which one...Galvatron'd just get more pissed, and Grimlock is probably going to charge him...' She glances at Weirdwolf at Galv's heels, "You'll do." With that, she opens fire from her bunkered position Combat: Robot T-Rex! sets his defense level to Guarded. Combat: Elita One sets her defense level to Guarded. Combat: Elita One strikes Mecha Wolf with her Plasma Cannon attack! -4 "Tch, looks like they found out where we were." Torque grimaces when the Decepticon presence is announced over the comm, but this doesn't stop her and she continues to charge ahead with the others. "Keep them off us!" She calls to the others when they finally come upon the door. "Air Raid, Suture, Retractor, watch him for me." She nods to the three and quickly steps away from the casket and up to the nearby keypad after the Aerialbot's valient effort to kick it down. "Okay, it was.." She mutters to herself a little, going over the code in her head while squinting at the screen and typing in the commands. This better be right. Combat: Torque sets her defense level to Protected. Prowl immediately sees Blast Off headed their way. No surprise there. "About time the calvary arrived." he mutters wryly to himself. "Torque, let me know if you need assistance with the door. The rest of you--cover fire. Flank and distract; slow them down as much as possible." The strategist prepares his weapons, taking a few astroseconds to scan the field of combat before taking action. Of course, Galvatron leads the attack, leaping off of Blast Off who is of course their source of transportation, with Weirdwolf and Earthquake right behind him. Heh. He's a little bit surprised that they didn't bring anyone else...well, not too surprised. Of course they'd overestimate their leader. Combat: Prowl takes extra time to assist Robot T-Rex! 's next attack. Zipline doesn't get to go far, not when the cons are quite literally knocking on their doorstep. She digs her claws into the floor when the whole place shudders, but pushes off of the ground immediately once she sees the decepticons start pouring in to Leader-1. The cheetah bot does a quick U-Turn, and bolts backwards, past Torque and the medical team. "I'll help play interference! Get moving!" There's not as much room to move around as she'd like, but for a bot her size it's plenty. She darts out into the open only long enough to fire a few bolts of energy for a distraction, then darts off again. Moving target! Combat: Zipline sets her defense level to Guarded. <'Autobot'> Prowl says, "Keep them back--if we're lucky we'll be able to stall them by slamming the door in their proverbial faces." <'Autobot'> Torque says, "Entering the code now. Primus I hope they gave me the right one.." Galvatron storms down into the landing bay, face lit with a manic light, his Decepticons at his heels. The Autobots swarm like insects, insignificant, suitable only to be stomped, and yet... What's that one doing with the door? He raises his cannon arm, pointing (incidentally, right at Torque, being as she's next to the door), and - There's a casket. Or a stasis pod. They're much the same thing, aren't they? Galvatron, heedless of anyone or anything else, rushes the casket like an angered bull moose and about as unstoppable, and once he can see the greyish form of his nemesis, the cannon arm snaps back up again, and the light of a star's rage lances forth from the fusion cannon. He mocks, "A pyre in space? More a warrior's funeral than any Autobot deserves!" Space Shuttle transforms to root mode so that he can move about the ship. Space shuttles aren't exactly going to easily fit inside these corridors, after all. He brings out his ionic blaster as he does so, and joins the other Cons running after the Bots. He's quick and agile, and is soon setting his sights on a certain Aerialbot who seems to have gotten his foot jammed. "Ah, turbo-turkeys in space! Even out here in so-called "zero gravity" you're still stubbing your toe? How pathetic. I'm afraid I'll just have to amputate the injured limb..." With that he fires at Raid's leg. Blast Off shifts into his battle-ready robot mode. Combat: The next attack against you will automatically hit. Combat: Blast Off sets his defense level to Guarded. Combat: Blast Off strikes Air Raid with his Mercy Killing attack! -3 Combat: Blast Off (Blast Off) used "Ionic Blaster": A Level 1 RANGED attack. Mecha Wolf is not frightened by fancy displays of fire, Dinobot! ... Though Monzo does duck down a bit more behind his head, just to be on the safe side. Left, right, left again he goes as Autobots turn and open fire, though it's only one of Elita's plasma shots hitting him in the shoulder despite the erratic movements. "Yes, today a good day to die is..." The mechanical wolf leaps and twists to land paws on the bulkhead, momentum allowing him to actually run along it briefly. Enough to get some elevation and keep out of Earthquake's way. Until his powerful legs push off again to send him flipping over Elita One's makeshift cover and hopefully into her physically. "... For you!" Combat: Mecha Wolf strikes Elita One with his Lupine Moonsault attack! Earthquake is right out behind Galvatron and Weirdwolf, unused to being behind anyone in assaults. This time, though, he's making an exception, because why would /anyone/ want to get between the Decepticon leader and his hated nemesis? Still, he can be useful even from this position, which he chooses to demonstrate as the Autobots enter their line of vision. "I'll slow them down!" he shouts, hands glowing red with seismic energy as he quickly leaps ahead of the pack, puncturing the floor with his powerful fingers and sending a directed pulse to shake things up for Elita's crew. Combat: Earthquake sets his defense level to Fearless. Combat: Earthquake misses Air Raid with his Seismic Waves Area attack! Combat: Earthquake (Earthquake) used "Seismic Waves": A Level 0 AREA-RANGED attack. Combat: Earthquake strikes Elita One with his Seismic Waves Area attack! Combat: That attack has temporarily impaired Elita One's Agility. (Crippled) Combat: Earthquake strikes Torque with his Seismic Waves Area attack! Combat: That attack has temporarily impaired Torque's Agility. (Crippled) Combat: Earthquake misses Prowl with his Seismic Waves Area attack! Combat: Earthquake misses Zipline with his Seismic Waves Area attack! Combat: Earthquake strikes Robot T-Rex! with his Seismic Waves Area attack! Combat: That attack has temporarily impaired Robot T-Rex! 's Agility. (Crippled) Galvatron's cannon connects with the stasis pod, even as the security panel turns green, confirming Torque's codes. The pod explodes, sending the body inside to a plasma burn ridden abyss. Earthquake's assault adds insult to injury, as pieces of Rodimus roll across the shaking floor. Time seems to stop. <'Autobot'> Elita One says, "NO!" <'Autobot'> Torque says, "RODIMUS!" After what seems like an eternity, the security doors finally open, revealing the pitch black hallway beyond... Which suddenly fills with a blinding white light. Leader-1 suddenly hums to life. There's a good chance anyone standing stumbles a bit as the massive ship's engines engage. In the chaos of the hopeless moment, a familiar silhouette steps forward, out of the light. "Galvatron..." Against logic, against truth, Rodimus Prime stands tall- healthy and strong. Oblivious to whatever reactions he may be receiving from either side of the fight, he cracks his knuckles and points to the crazed Decepticon Emperor. "This is the end of the road." As if on cue, batteries of artillery and laser pods begin transforming out of the walls and floors, dialing in on the attacking Decepticons. "Autobots, we invited them here, now it's time to tell them how we feel about them! Till All Are One!" As Leader-1 begins to defend itself, Rodimus sprints towards Galvatron, leaping forward for a simple, yet long overdue punch to the face. Combat: Leader-1 misses Galvatron with its Defensive Fire Area attack! Combat: Leader-1 strikes Mecha Wolf with its Defensive Fire Area attack! Combat: Leader-1 misses Blast Off with its Defensive Fire Area attack! Combat: Leader-1 strikes Earthquake with its Defensive Fire Area attack! Combat: Rodimus Prime sets his defense level to Fearless. Combat: Rodimus Prime strikes Galvatron with his Punch attack! "NO!" Elita One screams as Galvatron assaults whatever's left of Rodimus. Weirdwolf's suckerpunch attack strikes true, colliding with her as she's distracted. The attack sends her sprawling to the floor, several feet away from Weirdwolf. She groans as she tries to recover herself, using her arms to help pull herself back up to her feet. Despite Weirdwolf's attack, her eyes are elsewhere, and what Bot could blame her? Such rage, such fury in her voice as she bellows. "GALVATRON!" A one-sided fight, damn it, she knew she couldn't stand toe to toe with the Warlord and live. Elita One draws out her Path Blaster, as her frustration, her anguish manifests itself, "Never again, Never another!" With that, she opens fire on Galvatron, an iconic weapon in her hand. Combat: Elita One sets her defense level to Fearless. Combat: Elita One strikes Galvatron with the Elita One-forged Path Blaster attack! <'Autobot'> Rodimus Prime says, "Autobots we invited them here, and now it's time to tell them how we feel about them! Till All Are One!" Only after she fires, does Elita One give pause to note what just happened.... "R..Rodimus?" <'Autobot'> Air Raid says, "WHAT THE SLAG." How do you make the Dinobot even angrier? First, ignore his threats, Second, blow up his leader...again! Third? Nevermind, it only takes two to tick this Bot off. There's a bellow and gnashing of teeth as the floor lights up with crackling energy, shocking Grimlock's systems, triggering warnings. Okay, number three! With that, the dinobot loses all sense of self and loses it, charging through whichever Con's are closest to him, Galvatron, to the farthest, Blast Off... Combat: Robot T-Rex! sets his defense level to Fearless. Combat: Robot T-Rex! strikes Galvatron with his Dino Rampage Area attack! Combat: Robot T-Rex! strikes Earthquake with his Dino Rampage Area attack! Combat: Robot T-Rex! strikes Mecha Wolf with his Dino Rampage Area attack! Combat: Robot T-Rex! strikes Blast Off with his Dino Rampage Area attack! Air Raid is pretty damn bad at this infiltration slag, thank Vector Sigma for Torque! He keeps his back to the door and tries to cover folk, only to get a nice hot shot right in the knee joint. He buckles and hisses, clutching the smoldering wound before whipping his rifle up and narrowing an optic to aim. "I'm flattered, Blast Off! Being your second choice to Blurr is an HONOR! COME AT ME 'CON SCUM!" His weapon charges with a lifting pitch before a lance of twisting force tears for the shuttleformer. But whether it lands or whiffs, his attention snaps to ...Rodimus! On his feet! And The vessel's defenses. "Whoa! YEAH!" Combat: Air Raid sets his defense level to Fearless. Combat: Air Raid sets his defense level to Fearless. Combat: Air Raid strikes Blast Off with his Torque Rifle attack! There's not enough room for Zipline to maneuver as she'd like. But more like there's not enough floor. Zipline rushes straight at a nearby wall, and for a second it looks like she might smash head first into it. But then she lunges up at the last second, and for a few paces, seems to run along the wall. Just long enough to avoid getting rolled over by Earthquake's rattling at the floor. Zipline touches back down on the floor just in time to see Rodimus shatter into pieces. For a long, excruciating second, Zipline stares at the pile of parts that was the leader she never really met. Never would really get to meet... Her vocal processor produces a very good aproximation of a big cat's growl, and Zipline snaps her railcannon up. "Alright, time to become slag, decepticreeps!" She growls. The cannon hums angrily as it charges, then cracks as it fires a slug at Earthquake. But wait, what? Rodimus isn't dead? Zipline's attention instantly jerks back to the risen leader. "Whu?" Combat: Zipline sets her defense level to Aggressive. Now, getting Prowl shaken up over anything would be somewhat of a feat, since his abilities to make accurate predictions about what exactly is going to happen next. But this... ...this was completely unexpected. The strategist doesn't even have time to react to Galvatron apparently destroying what was left of Rodimus before their fearless leader suddenly appears out of the bright flash of light, strong and healthy. Okay, he's going to have to do some research on this strange ship, Leader-1, and what exactly had been in that room they'd just opened. Still, it only takes a moment for him to shake it off and press forward. <> Blow up their ride and they could be trapped on an Autobot-controlled starfreighter. And a particularly powerful one at that, apparently. Though the unknown kind of nags Prowl, personally. He just hopes there's someone else he can trust on this boarding party who knows more about it. For now, though, he directs a missile at Earthquake. Combat: Zipline strikes Earthquake with her Experimental Mini-Railcannon attack! -3 Combat: Prowl sets his defense level to Neutral. Combat: Prowl strikes Earthquake with his Wire-Guided Missile attack! <'Autobot'> Air Raid says, "Orders!" <'Autobot'> Prowl says, "Autobots, we have the advantage--destroy Blast Off and these Decepticons may not be returning to base for a long time. If at all." <'Autobot'> Elita One says, "You read my mind, Prowl." <'Autobot'> Prowl says, "Air Raid, would you like that job?" <'Autobot'> Prowl says, "You seem keen on the idea." <'Autobot'> Rodimus Prime says, "Orders, Air Raid? Make them regret the day they started loving the color purple, Commander." <'Autobot'> Air Raid says, "Heh!" Torque looks hopeful, a little smile actually lighting her face when the door accepts the code. "Got it! Get ready to move in every--!" She turns to hurry the medics inside with the casket, but she stops cold when she sees the horrified faces of her assistants as Galvatron moves in and... The casket explodes, Torque wheeling back into the wall that she holds when the ground starts shaking, her perception slowing down when she lowers her arm to watch the charred parts of their leader roll across the floor. "No.." She whispers, only to shout when clawing forward to the smoldering wreckage. "No! No no no! Rodimus!" If she could cry she'd be sobbing now, but the quake in her voice is telling enough as she tries to futily grab what she can. She can fix this! She knows she can! But there's nothing she can do, left to stare and bow forward to press her forehead against an arm. "Rodimus, I'm sorry.. I.. Huh?" The door opens beside her, leading to the bowels of the ship that suddenly light up and force her to raise an arm. But wait.. who's that? No.. "Rodimus...? H-How??" Wide optics stare in disbelief as the previously exploded mech is now standing good as new. It takes her a while to process this, but the urge to fight rises in her once more when Rodimus jumps into the fight. Torque will question it later. For now, her distress fuels her rage as she pushes herself to her feet, optics locking on Galvatron and dentals clenching. There's no valiant speech as she suddenly rushes him, no words of inspiration. Instead she roars furiously and fearlessly leaps to meet the Decepticon, swinging back a full powered punch to his face. Combat: Torque sets her defense level to Fearless. <'Autobot'> Air Raid says, "I'll light up Blast Off and whatever else I can grab." Combat: Torque strikes Galvatron with her Powerfist attack! <'Autobot'> Elita One says, "Prime....you and I are going to have a long talk as soon as we're done here." Alas Weirdwolf doesn't get a chance to gloat over bowling down the femme fatale as the ship suddenly turns on its internal defeneses. With feral grace he leaps away from her as she pulls out that big cannon, but with guns abruptly -everywhere- he can't do much to avoid getting pelting in the crossfire. "Pff, so bad wasn't tha--" ANGRY DINO AT FOUR O'CLOCK! Monzo bellows before ducking into his rarely used riding compartment. Except Weirdwolf stops instead of moving, snapping his head up. "Four o'clock? But it's later than thaAUGH!" Cue getting slammed by Grimlock's tail as the Dinobot storms through and flung into the bulkhead hard enough to leave an indentation as he collapses to the floor afterwards. ".. Oh. Meant that." You are such an idiot sometimes," Monzo retorts as he climbs out and grabs the wolves' ears. Cue the transformation sound and he stands up into robot mode, krinking his neck to the side despite already being battered and scrambled. Autobots everywhere, Rodimus not actually dead, what to do now? "Tricky situation become has this." "Then do somethin' smart like stop their medic from fixin' anyone!" Monzo practically screams inside his head. Not a bad idea actually. Regardless of his own life and how badly he's been smashed already Weirdwolf hurtles himself into the midst of the Autobots, aiming himself for the 'medic' as suggested to try and grab the femme off of Galvatron, and should he manage that slam her back down something fierce. Combat: Mecha Wolf sets his defense level to Aggressive. The mechanical wolf rises up into a bulky robot, Monzo folding up and forming his head. Combat: Weirdwolf uses up a charge on his Microphone booster pack! Combat: Weirdwolf strikes Torque with his Wrestlemania attack! Combat: That attack has slowed Torque, making her less efficient. <'Autobot'> Rodimus Prime says, "It's about how happy you are to see me, right Elita?" <'Autobot'> Grimlock simply roars incoherently before his radio transmitter short circuits and cuts out. <'Autobot'> Zipline says, "You get 'em, big guy!" Science Jeep should not be here. Brilliant and dangerous as she is, Cackle usually doesn't relish front-line combat. Too messy. But, when Galvatron points at you and orders you along, it's rather...unwise to argue. And so, Cackle's been hanging back, trying to stay out of the line of fire! That is, until she sees the abuse that Blast Off is taking. Given he's the ride out of here..."You! Combaticon!" she shrills as she bustles towards Blast Off. "I thought you were supposed to be a professional? Psh, maybe it's part of the Gestalt process- too much room for Bruticus-parts, not enough room for armor plating. Or eye lasers. Remind me to put eye-lasers on you when we get back to Cybertron." Cackle doesn't stop talking, even as she pulls out a chemical-laden syringe, which she *STABS* into Blast Off, complete with a little *vwoosh!* as its contents are injected into his systems. "Thankfully, I personally devised this combination of repair nanotech and CPU-stimulant- it'll keep you on your feet until-" she pauses, and ducks down as a random blast passes terrifyingly close. "-until you get shot again, at least. Now go shoot some Autobots!" Cackle transforms into robot mode! Combat: Cackle quickly patches up some of Blast Off's minor injuries. Galvatron feels oddly... empty, seeing Rodimus Prime's scattered armour pieces bouncing around the floor. He's broken Rodimus Prime so many times, brought him so near to death. Galvatron's fantasized about it even more, that intoxicating thought of the moment that life will leave the boy Prime. And. This is it. It feels... too easy? What is there for Galvatron, now? Murdering the rest of these little Autobots is a chore for the least of his servants! The sour taste fo black biel is in his mouth. Even in death, Rodimus Prime disappoints him! A snarl creep over Galvatron's face, and he says lowly, "How dare he." Then louder, he throws his arms in the air and screams, "HOW DARE HE!?" Then the door opens, and the red devil stands there, alive and whole, to torment Galvatron yet again, the ship defenses bringing forth the Prime's will. Galvatron reaches for him, fingers outstretched, unsure if what he's seeing is real. Then that pink witch of a mechamosquito draws attention to herself, daring to mar the perfection of Galvatron with her ridiculous handicrafts. The idiot dinosaur presumes to charge Galvatron. And then one little gnat gets up in Galvatron's face with a Powerfist. Which actually cracks one of his optics, ruby red shards spilling down. "Heh." "Rodimus! Your servants so eagerly place their lives between me and you. I can only assume that they intend for their lives to go the way of all obstacles - utterly obliterated!" Galvatron calls out. He reaches first for Torque, intending to grab up the impudent whelp and use her to bludgeon Grimlock into Elita One, like a macabre game of bowling - with Rodimus as the last pin! Combat: Galvatron strikes Torque with his Knocking Down Pins Area attack! -3 Combat: That attack has temporarily limited Torque's Agility! (Crippled) Combat: Galvatron strikes Robot T-Rex! with his Knocking Down Pins Area attack! -3 Combat: That attack has temporarily limited Robot T-Rex! 's Agility! (Crippled) Combat: Galvatron strikes Elita One with his Knocking Down Pins Area attack! -3 Combat: That attack has temporarily limited Elita One's Agility! (Crippled) Combat: Galvatron strikes Rodimus Prime with his Knocking Down Pins Area attack! -3 Combat: That attack has temporarily limited Rodimus Prime's Agility! (Crippled) <'Autobot'> Air Raid says, "TORQUE!" <'Autobot'> Torque says, "Ergh!" Unfortunately, being one of the biggest targets around and causing lots of trouble for people tends to draw a lot of aggro, and Earthquake soon finds out what it really means to be a tank. Grimlock's mad charge smashes him into a wall, crumpling his armor like tissue paper. As he peels himself off and stumbles back toward the Autobots, though, he sees the security door opening, and what looks like- "What in the name of Primus is going on?" he wonders aloud, just before the ship's defenses target him, multiple shots slamming into his body and forcing him back. Zipline gets in on it too with her railgun, and Prowl's missile finally blasts him off his feet, sending him flying back toward the wreckage of the Brightest Dawn. Ow. Combat: Earthquake takes extra time to steady himself. Pass Blast Off stops as... time seems to slow down- and Rodimus Prime appears? But the shuttle doesn't have long to wonder what just happened- the ship he is in seems to come to life and start firing at him and the other Cons. Nimbly dodging that attack, he doesn't realize Prowl just locked Grimlock onto his coordinates. He starts scrambling back, but dodging both the Dinobot and the ship's lasers prove to be too much. Grimlock SLAMS him, sending him flying across the corridor. The Combaticon has little endurance or armor to begin with, and this causes massive damage. But that's not all. Raid retaliates, and the already hard-hit Combaticon isn't able to get out of the way in time. "GAH!" He staggers back again, energon leaking, circuits frying, and servos creaking. All kinds of warnings flash across his line of sight. But he's not going to show fear, not to Raid... and not in front of Galvatron."...Hardly, Air Raid. You're just the want-to-be Decepticon flier whose wings simply MUST be clipped." He stands there another moment, trying to get the strength to fight again, but there's so much leakage it's a bit difficult...until Cackle comes running up. He blinks and just looks at her as she goes on about nanotech and whatnot. Though he does jerk back a little as she stabs him. "Watch it! And I am *quite professional, I was just... not expecting time treachery. I shall... be more careful about that next time." He whips up his gun again, feeling a little better now. "Shoot Autobots? Gladly!" And he fires at Raid. Combat: Booster Pack EAGLE TALONS is activated! It will use up a charge the next chance it gets! Combat: Blast Off sets his defense level to Protected. Combat: Blast Off strikes Air Raid with his I destroy Autobots by choice not command though. It's my Motto after all. attack! -1 Combat: Blast Off (Blast Off) used "Ionic Blaster": A Level 3 RANGED attack. Combat: That attack has slightly corrupted your Accuracy systems! Rodimus Prime gets a Torque directly to the chest, and staggers backwards, but manages to wrap an arm around the smaller medic to steady her. Prime sets her down and offers Torque a quick wink with the bright blues before turning his attention back to Galvatron. His face grows stern- threatening those closest to him tends to push more than a few buttons in the young Autobot leader. "Obliterated?" He rushes into the purple maniac, slamming into Galvatron with all his flame decalled weight and momentum. "Not today..." He's aiming to slam Galvatron into a rather large turret. "Not ever!" Prowl is constantly monitoring the battlefield, his plan to trap the Decepticons here remaining in the back of his mind. Thus, when Cackle suddenly makes herself visible and starts patching up Blast Off, he trains his weapons on her. "Oh no you don't." he mutters, and another missiles launches from a shoulder, straight at the medic. If it strikes its target, it will explode and set her aflame. Try fixing your friends when you're on fire, eh? Combat: Prowl sets his defense level to Aggressive. Combat: Prowl strikes Cackle with his And a missile for you too. attack! Combat: Rodimus Prime strikes Galvatron with his SPEAR! BAH GAWD HE'S BROKEN IN HALF! (Smash) attack! Zipline is confused. She stares at Rodimus with her head canted slightly to the side like she can't quite believe what she's seeing. Is her new optic acting up? She smacks it a couple of times just to be sure. "Talk about an ultimate reboot," She says, giving her head a quick shake. There'll be time to process that later. Rushing past skermishes, Zipline spies the exchange between Air Raid and Blast Off. She zips behind a bit of cover, then pokes her head out. Those sensors in her optics zero in on Blast Off, quickly scanning for a few weaknesses in his armor. Quickly processing her findings, she beams the information to Air Raid. Combat: Zipline analyzes Blast Off for weaknesses Air Raid can exploit. <'Autobot'> Rodimus Prime says, "Keep the pressure up, Autobots! Let's make Galvatron think twice before he chases a dead man across the galaxy again!" Elita One gets a retributive strike for her attack, one via Torque. She clanks against the other Femme and staggers back into the wall. With another groan, she rights herself. Prime was here. Alive. Despite everything that just happened. A flurry of emotions fill her, more fury, panic, loss, relief, and a recognition of misplaced timing. Her mouth flattens into a thin line as she assesses the situation. The battle has shifted so much in such a tiny amount of time.... She says softly to herself "Prime...he turned the tide...." Confusion fills her for a moment, as she takes a step back away from the Faction leaders fight. "No...it's Prime's fight." She turns to assess the situation, a level head on her shoulders. That is what was needed now. Think, Elita, Think... Use the chaos, embrace it, that's how you chose to fight Shockwave, to be unpredicatable, to assess scenes from those outside angles that are hard to predict. And yet she hesitates a moment longer, 'Move....Move!', her processor screams internally. And then...and only then does she move, 'Hesitation is the enemy...' The words flash through her mind, 'Worse even than death.' She glances towards the end of the bay, where Cackle and Blast Off were, plants her hand on the cover she used earlier, vaults over it then in one smooth motion, changes modes, roaring into melee with the two. Cackle first. Medic and all that. Elita One moves to kneel, her breastplate swings up on both sides, her arms retract, slipping behind her as she sinks down. A windshield rises up at the end, covering her face as she turns into a futuristic car. Combat: Pink Techcar sets her defense level to Protected. Combat: Pink Techcar misses Cackle with her Ram attack! Like such a giant dinosaur shaped bowling pin, Grimlock is aware that he's been knocked aside and is vaguely aware of thumping against another Bot, but right now, none of that matters. His optics are still a red haze as energon pulses through them. He rolls along the bay floor but rights himself, claws digging into the metal floor with a loud screeching noise, followed by a loud bellowing noise as the Dinobot charges back towards Blast Off again, the last Con in his targeting sensors before he fell into his Battle Rage. Even Rodimus Prime showing himself alive and well...again!, does little to assuage his fevered rage. Combat: Robot T-Rex! strikes Blast Off with his STOMP'D (Kick) attack! Air Raid is told to SIC BLAST OFF. Alas, he can't transform in here, but that does nothing to stifle his bravado. "HAH! 'Cons can't /fly/. Not /really/. C'mon Challenger! Still mad about Blitzwing? Don't you HATE ME? Heh heh!" He jests, but he's quite serious as he draws the crackling wire of his materializing warbow. Zipline gets him some lovely targetting data that he quickly puts to use, letting a charged arrow fly straight for Blast Off's chest. While Grimlock appears to be stomping him. Then Galvatron uses Torque to beat other 'bots. That's totally not cool. "Fraggin' MANIAC!" Two more explosive arrows are quickly nocked and shot straight up into the air! -TWHOK!- Combat: Deactivating Booster Pack EAGLE TALONS. Combat: Air Raid misses Galvatron with his Grenade Arrow Strafe Area attack! Combat: Air Raid misses Blast Off with his Grenade Arrow Strafe Area attack! Combat: Air Raid misses Weirdwolf with his Grenade Arrow Strafe Area attack! Combat: Air Raid strikes Earthquake with his Grenade Arrow Strafe Area attack! Combat: That attack has temporarily impaired Earthquake's Agility. (Crippled) <'Autobot'> Elita One says, "Raid, watch those fireworks!" Only a cracked optic? Torque's gonna have to hit harder than that, which is just what she's going to do! There's a fire in those amber optics, rage radiating off the femme as she powers up another punch, but Weirdwolf approaches from behind and snags her up to slam her hard to the ground. "Ergh!" She reels from the pain, but it'll take more than that to keep her down, the medic clenching her jaw and trying to force herself back up. "I'll make you pay for thinking you can come here and destroy our Prime. You'll never win!" She barks at Galvatron with venom in her voice, "I'll make sure of--Hrgk!" Optics fly wide as Galvatron grabs her up next, Torque squirming in his grip until he pitches her across the room to slam into several Bots. Thankfully Rodimus grabs her before she keeps going, the worn femme bowing in his arm and wheezing a little when she lifts her head to see that wink. Heh, typical Prime. It actually brings a worn out smile to her face. "Thanks.." And then he's gone, back into the fight. Torque has to steady herself a moment before she can follow behind him, working out the kinks in her joints when moving back in and zeroing sights on a particular Headmaster. "Time for you Cons to get off this ship!" She snarls, moving to rush him and, if she can, grapple Weirdwolf and hoist him up over her head with what remaining strength she has and bring him down with a force on her knee. Monzo isn't the only one who can wrestle here! Combat: Torque strikes Weirdwolf with her Backbreaker attack! <'Autobot'> Air Raid says, "Sorry!" <'Autobot'> Elita One says, "You need Prowl to help target for you?" And then Earthquake gets blown up AGAIN, by Air Raid's grenade bow this time. Seriously, is he suddenly Green Arrow or something? Anywho, he's not gonna be doing anything for a while. Go focus on people who didn't just get knocked silly by every Autobot in the room. <'Autobot'> Air Raid says, "Yeah, someone get me a bead..." Galvatron is slammed into a turret by the Prime, which does end up sticking out of him like a spear. The scion of Unicron doesn't seem as concerned by this development of a massive sucking torso wound as maybe he should be. He hisses out, "Oh yes, today, Rodimus! Today, your little puppets will all die before you, and I'll let you weep about how your playtime is over before I add you to the heap of broken toys!" He reaches out, tries to grab Rodimus by the head, and slam Rodimus's head down into the turret, which... could get gruesome. Air Raid's arrows really are ignored. Galvatron has more pressing matters! <'Autobot'> Elita One says, "Then pick your target, Prowl!" <'Autobot'> Air Raid says, "Blast Off got my targetting systems good, I can't see straight." Combat: Galvatron sets his defense level to Fearless. Combat: Galvatron strikes Rodimus Prime with his Head Meet Turret attack! <'Autobot'> Elita One says, "I can't set a bomb in here, the decompression won't help any of us." "Now then, back to-" wherever Cackle was planning, it's cut short as Prowl's missile strikes her dead on! She pauses for a moment, looking down at herself as flames spread over her frame. "Oh, incindieary ammunition. CleeeeeerAGGH ON FIRE ON FIRE I'M ON FIRE!" She flails around desperately (which coincidentally takes her out of Elita One's path) and then finally gets a fire extinguisher from her toolkit, putting herself out! She tosses the empty cannister aside, and brings up her mighty RAY PROJECTOR with her other hand. "That may have been a good shot, FOOLISH AUTOBOT, but your primitive fire-missiles cannot COMPARE to the might of my amazing SCIENCE RAY!" And she fires, sending the energy at Prowl with a *VOIP!* "BEHOLD MY BRILLIANCE!" Combat: Cackle strikes Prowl with her Science Ray attack! Combat: Cackle's attack has strange and mysterious effects on Prowl. Blast Off strikes Raid again, but in the confusion and laser fire he fails to notice the big Dinobot charging at him until it is too late. Optics widen at the sight of the *huge* beast rushing towards him and he frantically tries to dodge out of the way, but Grimlock is surprisingly agile himself. The much larger t-rex's heel comes smashing down on the only just-repeared Combaticon...and basically squashes him flat. Or nearly so. Armor is heavily damaged, rent asunder, and snapped off completely. He cries out in pain... there is really only so much punishment he can take, and he's already had more than enough. But Galvatron is here, they're on an important mission, and he must continue fighting. Once Grimlock steps off him, he gets back up with a groan and several protesting servos, staggering away as fast as he can. Armor, strength (what little he had to begin with anyway)... several systems are failing him. But he has one last trick up his figurative sleeve. He takes a small device out of subspace. It's an armor booster... supposed to increase one's endurance by a little bit... and he sure could use that about now. Before he really does get killed here. A little trinket he picked up on a deep-space mission, most likely with the help of Swindle. Placing it on his shoulder, it seems to envelope him with some sort of partial shield. Hoping it actually works, he hangs back from the main crowd, feeling very cautious after the smackdown he's been receiveing, and fires at Raid again while standing near some sheltering rubble. <'Autobot'> Prowl says, "Air Raid, I'll send targeting data your way. Focus on Blast Off." <'Autobot'> Air Raid says, "Roger." There's a glint of metal and orange glow as Weirdwolf draws his thermal sword, gripping it in both hands. Followed by a flurry of dramatic motion and several quick flashing swipes, and then he holds his stancethe sword held in reverse along his arm as halves of arrows dramaticly scatter away before they can explode, having managed to deflect several of the ones directed at Galvatron and Blast Off as well. Not that Galvatron is likely to notice in his hate induced rage. Then Torque decides to get some revenge for being used as a ragdoll weapon, grabbing the bulkier headmaster from behind, hoisting him up, and then dropping him across her knee. The sickening crunch of metal impacting metal rings through the hanger, a huge sparking hole left in Weirdwolf's backside as he rolls off her leg and hits the deck. The headmaster heaves an audible growl, but then pushes himself back up onto his feet. Still grinning that manic grin as looks down at Torque. "Not bad. Quite painful." His grin only widens. "But pain my friend is." And then the sword flashes out again, glowing red hot as he brings it down into a cleaving blow at Torque. "LET ME INTRODUCE YOU TO IT!" Combat: Weirdwolf sets his defense level to Fearless. Combat: Weirdwolf strikes Torque with his Thermal Sword attack! Well. Prime isn't dead. But he ain't very handsome right now, either. Galvatron smashes his face into the turret, shattering most of his faceplate, and spraying a satisfying mist of energon across the Decepticon's face. Rodimus staggers back, cheek and forehead caved in, sparks spraying out of a shattered eye. "You don't get it, Galvatron." He grins, though it looks rather macabre. "You don't get to win today. You don't even get to walk away with your dignity." He gestures upwards, and the turret Galvatron is impaled on responds to his command, and begins swiveling straight up, leaving Galvatron impaled and flailing like a piece of angry meat on a fork. He points his arm at Galvatron, the blasters on his gauntlet charging up. Remember the humming sound from Mega Man X? There's a burst of light from the weapon as Rodimus opens fire, a grim look of satisfaction on his face as he looks to end the Decepticon Emperor once and for all. Meanwhile, Leader-1 lurches forward suddenly as the Starfreighter begins moving. Where are they headed? It's probably not good for the Decepticons, where ever it is. Combat: Rodimus Prime strikes Galvatron with his Photon Eliminator attack! Combat: Blast Off strikes Air Raid with his Designated Driver- and I'd like to live thanks (Laser) attack! Combat: Blast Off (Blast Off) used "Laser": A Level 2 RANGED attack. Pink Techcar swerved a bit early to avoid the smashed in area where the Brightest Dawn crashed. E1 makes a mental note to fight more often in her vehiclular mode. She handbrakes to turn around, her tires spinning and squealing as Cackle denies her attention, Her lights flicker once, "Another mad scientist. Vector Sigma must've had a sale." She revs again, then as Cackle jeers Prowl, taking a moment to quip "Oh, let's COMPARE your science to my hood!" The techcar rams forward towards Cackle, preemptively adding "How'd that work out, hmm?" Combat: Pink Techcar sets her defense level to Neutral. Combat: Pink Techcar strikes Cackle with her Ram attack! Prowl stumbles back as Cackle's ray bores into his armor, causing cracks in several places. Despite the fire extinguisher, she's actually still on fire, the flames only partially doused. He won't give the courtesy of reminding her that she is though. Let her go trying to fix someone while her body is still burning, that'd certainly be interesting, heh. Falling back, he ducks behind a wing of the docked Dawn, taking note of Air Raid's difficulties. <> Data away. <> Combat: Prowl sets his defense level to Protected. Combat: Prowl takes extra time to assist Blast Off's next attack. Combat: Prowl takes extra time to assist Air Raid's next attack. That voice of Rodimus cuts through Grimlock's rage haze, even after the satisfying crunch of metal underneath his giant clawed foot. Strange, he doesn't hear anything over his radio. He staggers a bit, dinosaur head swivelling around to survey the battlefield. "Me Grimlock say you Prime have better days! But good to see you Rodi-mus!" Grimlock's familiar inflection/drawl when addresses the Bot leader signals a return to a clearer head, just in time to see Galvatron go up like Husk on a pike. Not sure what to do for the moment, Grimlock moves to stand beside his leader, Energon Sword in hand, in case anyone else feels like getting uppity. "Me Grimlock here to help Prime!" Grimlock stomps his metal dino feet and roars as his body twists, tail splitting to become legs and arms and head emerging along with the familiar transmogrification sound. Combat: Grimlock sets his defense level to Guarded. Combat: Grimlock takes extra time to steady himself. Pass Air Raid pauses to rap his palm against the side of his helm as his vision jumps around and his HUD flickers. Fraggin' Blast Off. The shuttleformer manages to nail him during this, ripping apart the armor on his side and singing energon lines. "Glitchin' piece a'..." Prowl updates his flickering HUD with more targetting info, and he /tries/ to put it to good use this time. Thermite arrows pop out of subspace and he quickly nocks them, yanks back the energized line of his bow with all of his might, and sends the arrows flying. Combat: Air Raid strikes Galvatron with the Apocryphacius-forged RAIN OF FIRE Area attack! Combat: Air Raid strikes Blast Off with the Apocryphacius-forged RAIN OF FIRE Area attack! Combat: Blast Off uses up some of his The Final Countdown shield booster! Combat: Massive damage! Combat: Removing analysis data for Blast Off. Combat: Removing targeting data for Blast Off. Combat: Air Raid strikes Weirdwolf with the Apocryphacius-forged RAIN OF FIRE Area attack! <'Autobot'> Air Raid says, "HAHA! EAT IT SLAGGERS!" <'Autobot'> Prowl says, "Damn it, he's using personal shielding." Torque is a bit taken aback when Weirdwolf gets up as if nothing happened. That should've taken him down for the count with an injury like that... But that maniacal grin is met with a stern, unyeilding glare as the femme stands her ground. "Bring it." She challenges. "I'm not afraid of you!" Though she should be with the thermal sword swinging down suddenly to meet her arm that she raises to protect herself. "Frag!" She curses in pain when the blade strikes, nearly slicing clean through her arm and slashing a long gash across her torso like a hot knife through butter. A spray of violet errupts from her gash and the partially severed limb, Torque clutching it hard to her chest when staggering back. Energon blood trails in her wake when backing into a wall and being brought to a knee, the medic groping for her tools that spill out of subspace and clatter on the ground. Have to stop the bleeding... <'Autobot'> Elita One says, "Keep on them, Bots!" Combat: Torque sets her defense level to Protected. Combat: Torque quickly patches up some of her minor injuries. With the intel passed on to Air Raid, Zipline dashes off again before she could see the explosion. Only to end up having to dodge out of the way of one anyway when one of the grenades goes wild. "HEY! Shoot him, not us!" She complains, then darts off in another direction. And just in time to watch Torque begin to bleed precious mech-fluid all over the floor. Zipline narrows her eyes, and puts on the speed. "INCOMING!" While there's not much room to build up to full speed, there's more than enough for her to become a tawny colored missile. She speeds straight at Weirdwolf, aiming to slam head first into his chest - And give Torque some precious time. Combat: Zipline sets her defense level to Fearless. Combat: Zipline strikes Weirdwolf with her DOWN! BAD DOG! (Ram) attack! "NYARGH!" Galvatorn bellows petulantly as Rodimus Prime rotates the turret up, leaving Galvatron high and dry. Then Rodimus kicks off the barbeque with his photon eliminator, the coruscating light blackening Galvatron's violet armour, leaving the Emperor of Destruction a dark ghost of himself, a pinned bug, twitching and screaming. The fire does not end there, though, no, not with the dying of the light. Air Raid fans the flames high with his diabolical thermite arrows, that burn and burn and burn endlessly. Galvatron wrenches himself off the turret and gets to his feet, though hunched over. He coughs something up that drips black and tarry through his fingers. He looks up, one optic still broken from when Torque dared to mar his visage, the other burning with undying anger. But for now... that anger will go unsatisfied. Galvatron bellows, "Decepticons, retreat! We will kill the Autobots... another day." The tyrant coughs again and turns on his heel, headed towards Blast Off. <'Autobot'> Air Raid says, "Hah!" Cackle gloats as she sees her SCIENCE RAY burn away at Prowl- but then she's- "AAAGH ON FIRE STILL STUPID CHEMICAL-BASED INCINDIEARIES!" she flails at herself again- and then catches word of Elita's gloat. "Compare my science to your WHAT? That doesn't make any-" *KAPOW!* Elita One hit-n-runs the decepticon scientist in short order- at which point Cackle scrabbles away, whimpering- she lets out a relieved, half-choked laugh as Galvatron orders the retreat- and then she pops into her vehicular mode and does just that! Cackle transforms into vehicle mode! Combat: Science Jeep sets her defense level to Protected. Combat: Science Jeep begins retreating, leaving herself vulnerable to parting shots from Zipline and Pink Techcar It's around this time that Earthquake finally regains consciousness, shoving aside some of the debris that fell on him and stumbling out of the Autoship wreckage. For a moment, he considers socking Prowl in the jaw, since the strategist is just /right there/, but he instead grumbles and heads toward Blast Off when the order to retreat is given. "Gonna pound 'em into slag next time..." Combat: Galvatron sets his defense level to Protected. Combat: Galvatron begins retreating, leaving himself vulnerable to parting shots from Air Raid, Blast Off, Rodimus Prime, Science Jeep , Zipline, Pink Techcar , Weirdwolf, Torque, Prowl, and Earthquake Combat: Earthquake sets his defense level to Protected. Combat: Earthquake begins retreating, leaving himself vulnerable to parting shots from Air Raid, Blast Off, Rodimus Prime, Science Jeep , Zipline, and Pink Techcar <'Autobot'> Air Raid says, "Look at 'em scramble! OORAH!" <'Autobot'> Torque says, "Thanks for the assist, Zipline. That fragger got me good." Blast Off , despite hanging back and being on high alert, can't seem to counter the effects of Prowl's targeting. Raid locks on him and despite a quick dodge to the right, the Aerialbot hits him- right square in the chest. The shot is so exact that if he *wasn't* wearing the shield, he'd be dead- permanently- right now. The shield takes the hit for him instead, but it still causes the Combaticon to stagger back and the shield breaks apart from the absolutely massive impact. He's just about to radio the others about needing to retreat...when Galvatron gives the order. Thank Primus. The Combaticon wastes no time rushing back towards the landing dock and transforming, opening his cargo bay door to let the others in. As soon as they are in, he blasts off into the void of space... before he gets offlined. It's going to be a long, painful flight back as it is, and reentering planetary orbit with heat shields THIS damaged is NOT going to be fun.... With a disdainful shrug, Blast Off transforms into a space shuttle. Combat: Space Shuttle begins retreating, outrunning all pursuit. <'Autobot'> Zipline says, "Don't mention it! You okay?" "Tch tch." Weirdwolf draws back the blade as Torque tumbles and tries to scurry away from him, lifting it up at an angle to lick some of the freshly spilled energon off the blade. Then grins down at the femme once more. "Here lie you, broken and bleeding." He starts to raise his weapon once more to finish the job. "And soon in pieces be as we--huh?" His head snaps around as Zipline yells, only to have the small feline slam into him. She doesn't do a lot of damage, but her momentum hits like a cannonball and is enough to stagger him away from Torque. And right into the barrage of thermite arrows from Air Raid. One of them manages to wedge into one of the large wounds he's already sustained as it explodes, and that is enough to finally blow him off his feet. "Hrrf.. spicy meatball was that." With a groan he rolls over and transforms, up on all fours and bounding off after the other Decepticons. Not with his tail between his legs though. Just look at the toy, the joint doesn't swivel down that far, hah! <'Autobot'> Torque says, "Yeah, patched up the worst of it!" Weirdwolf drops to the ground, landing on all fours as a robotic beast. Combat: Mecha Wolf sets his defense level to Protected. Combat: Mecha Wolf begins retreating, leaving himself vulnerable to parting shots from Space Shuttle , Zipline, and Pink Techcar Rodimus Prime watches the Decepticons turn tail, even as Datapop appears beside him almost immediately, poking at his face. He gives his executive assistant a small smile. "Good to see you, too. I hope you've kept up with the filing." He turns to face the Autobots gathered in the hangar. "I can't express how good it is to finally see all of you again." He pauses, glancing at the ground for a moment. "I know I have some explaining to do. A lot of explaining to do. But for now..." He points at the retreating Decepticon ship screaming away from the freighter. "Take a moment to enjoy the win. We don't get a view like this that often." Prime walks towards the Dawn, giving Wolfwings a salute. "Get her fired up, soldier." He pauses, and turns to the gathered 'Bots. "Let's go home." Hmph. A tactical retreat. For all of Galvatron's madness, he at least knows when he can't win the day. He grumbles inwardly though, at Blast Off's little shield. It hadn't been much, but it had been just enough to save him and allow the Decepticons to escape. His last missile nearly launches from his shoulder at the Combaticon, but he thinks better of it. "Right, then. You heard him. Let's get going." The strategist then transforms and moves off toward the Dawn himself. Prowl shifts forms, folding down into a black and white Nissan 350Z Police Cruiser. Considering the size difference between Zipline and Weirdwolf, it looks a bit like a house-cat taking on a labrador. It probably looks silly and horribly against the cheetah's favor, but Zipline didn't stop to actually think about it. She bounces off of Weirdwolf's chest, a few cracks showing on her forehead. But the cat doesn't actually land on her feet, ending up in a brief roll. By the time that Zipline has gotten herself back up on all four paws, the decepticons are making a retreat. "Yeah, you better run!" Zipline holds up a paw threateningly. Or would be threatening, if she wasn't a tiny tape. "'Cause we majorly kicked your afts! Whoo! Bots rule!" Torque is left open for another attack when she patches her wounds, and Weirdwolf seems eager to take the advantage. A snarl fixes on her features when he confronts her, a fist lifting to try and defend herself, but luckily Zipline comes to the rescue! The tape surprisingly knocks the Headmaster away and Raid's arrows send him running, saving Torque a possibley grousome end. "Primus.." She sighs as the Decepticons begin to retreat, visibly wilting with fatigue. "Thank you." She smiles weakly to Zipline and pushes herself back to her feet with a grunt, wincing at the pain of her spot-welded arm. Home sounds good right now, Torque folloring the others, though she reaches up to pat Prime's shoulder in passing. "Lemme fix that face of yours and get everyone patched. Then maybe you can explain what in the pit happened back there." It doesn't sound like she's mad, especially with the smirk on her face, but all of this is certainly confusing. Autobot Message: 3/187 Posted Author Operation: Tackle Box Jan 16 2014 Rodimus Prime ------------------------------------------------------------------------------''' Rodimus Prime stands in his Decagon office, windows overlooking the expanse of Iacon. He address the camera. As the Earth saying goes; rumors of my demise have been greatly exaggerated. Specifically, they were exaggerated by me, and I owe you all an explanation." A hologram of the Exurium Throne shimmers to life next to Prime. "Let's start with what everyone knows: In an attempt to save an intel agent's life on the Exurium Throne, I engaged Galvatron one on one- and I lost. Galvatron tossed me into a ravine of molten lead, and probably would have died in Ultra Magnus hadn't found me." The hologram shifts from the volcano to Protihex. "As you know, I was sent to Iacon General to be repaired by Torque, only to be transferred to Protihex when it was determined my lasercore had been corrupted by molten lead poisoning. Except that I was never in any sort of real danger. From the moment I was transferred to Protihex, all of you were involved in a lie. It was a lie meant to catch the Decepticons off guard, but it was a lie nonetheless. And for that, I apologize to you all." The hologram shifts to Leader-1. "I've grown tired of watching bystanders suffer at the hands of Galvatron. I needed a fiction to draw him out to a remote location. Every trap needs bait- in this case, my dying body and, I hate to say it, your grief." He takes a moment. "Ifthere had been some other way to do this, to spare all of you from this, it would have been done. But frankly, Contrail and Soundwave's efforts have grown stronger and bolder in recent months, and I had to play this close to the chest. My Executive Assistant Datapop and key members of our maintenance division playing the role of Protihex doctors were the only Autobots with knowledge of my plan." The hologram shifts to security cam footage of last night's battle, playing on mute. We had the derelict star freighter Leader-1 retrofitted with automated defense systems, and linked their controls into my remote processers. Galvatron, blinded by his need to see me permanently ended, took the bait hook, line, and sinker. With a rough dummy resting comfortably in a stasis pod, Galvatron thought he had me: When really, I was waiting on Leader-1 to spring the trap. Elita One, Torque, Air Raid, Prowl, Grimlock, and Zipline fought like legends of Cybertron's past, and with their help we gave Galvatron and his troops a beating they won't soon forget." Footage cuts to Grimlock berserker charging Earthquake, Blast Off, Cackle, and Weirdwolf, then to Zipline cat-tackling Weirdwolf. Finally, Air Raid exploding an impaled Galvatron with a specialized explosive arrow. "Good work, Autobots. And carry on. Till All Are One." ''' Decepticon Message: 2/99 Posted Author AAR: LEADER-1 Jan 15 2014 Galvatron ------------------------------------------------------------------------------''' Blackened, battered, and one optic cracked, Galvatron appears, on Blast Off's bridge, and he is *furious*. Every single gesture carries with it a hatred as strong as the gravity of a black hole. Fists clenched, fusion cannon pointed up, Galvatron seethes: "SOUNDWAVE! You have failed me! Rodimus Prime was not dying - and I doubt he ever was! Leader-1 was one big trap. The Autobots savaged my troops." Who included Blast Off, Cackle, Weirdwolf, and Earthquake, not that Galvatron actually names them. "The Autobots must pay for their perfidy and pay with their LIVES. *WE* are the Decepticons, and we will not be tricked!" "The Autobot medic with the big hands, the not-so-dead Prowl - feh, where is Scavenger when you need him? - that witch Elita One, one of those Aerialbot idiots, and one of those cat Autobots - they must all suffer! Soundwave, you have one chance to redeem yourself - destroy these Autobots." "The rest of you - destroy them *first*, and you shall be rewarded." "Rodimus Prime is mine. I'll twist off his head! NYARGH!" Galvatron, Decepticon Leader. '''